4 March 2012 WAS Board adopts and operationalizes a new strategic plan Graham C. Mair I recently completed a three-year term as a Director on the WAS Board, an enjoyable and rewarding experience. I believe it is important when in such a position to actively contribute to the Society by taking responsibility or ownership of one or more specific activities focused on delivering a concrete and achievable output within the time frame of the directorship. Through my membership on the Finance and Long Range Planning Committee, I found myself driving a process, fully supported by the Board, to upgrade the WAS Strategic Plan. From the outset I was keen that this be more than simply updating a document that will then sit on a shelf in the WAS Home Office until a future board member gets the task to update it again. The goal from the beginning was to produce and operationalize the Strategic Plan as a management tool that would be used routinely by the Board as a living and evolving document, guiding its actions and providing continuity over time. In developing this Strategic Plan the Board has gone through a systematic process, first by streamlining its strategies (from a previous list of nine to a new list of six - see Box 1). Under each of these strategies we then identified a number of key target outcomes we would like to achieve for the Society over the five-year life span of the Plan. Under each outcome we then identified a series of key outputs that the Board could achieve within a defined timetable that would deliver or contribute to the delivery of outcomes in the longer term. Lastly, under each output, we identified activities, the measure by which achievement of the output would be determined, and the committee that would be primarily responsible for delivering each output. This was no trivial exercise, with the plan being developed over three Board meetings with active participation of the whole Board. The key principle underlying the plan is that the Board should be working towards the achievement of tangible outputs. We followed the SMART maxim for our outputs, ensuring that each was specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and timely. The measurable achievement of these outputs will move the Society forward in an agreed direction as defined by strategies and target outcomes within each Strategy. However, it was not sufficient merely to produce a comprehensive Strategic Plan, and there is no doubt that the developed plan is comprehensive! It was vital that the plan be operationalized, that it becomes central to the functioning of the Board and that it evolves during the five-year term of the plan to take into account changes in priorities and contributions of new Board members. At its post-conference Board meeting in Natal, Brazil, the Board agreed not only to adopt the Strategic Plan but to operationalize it through each Board committee being assigned responsibility for delivering a series of outputs within the plan and reporting against progress towards these outputs at each Board meeting. During its review of progress at each Board meeting any changes or updates to the Strategic Plan can be identified and an updated version of the plan produced after the meeting such that the plan will evolve. The plan would then be more comprehensively reviewed after five years prior to issuing a new five-year plan. A copy of the Strategic Plan can be found on the WAS website. The Board found the Strategic Plan development process to be a worthwhile exercise that focused the Board on the key strategies, outputs and associated activities that will move the Society forward in the right direction. Effective operationalization of the plan should ensure that current and future Boards, including the Executive Director, have a common and clear vision of the development of the society and a continuity in the progress toward key targets over time, even as the composition and membership of the Board changes. Key strategies in the WAS strategic plan 1. Deliver quality services that meet the needs of our membership within the global aquaculture community. 2. Improve global representation within the society (membership and leadership), especially from underrepresented groups. 3. Improve the visibility, recognition and outreach of WAS in the global community. 4. Develop linkages and alliances with aquaculture and related organizations. 5. Recognize and reward excellence in aquaculture service, technology and innovation. 6. Ensure commitment to excellence in management and a sustainable business model.
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